2– The Prophet (S) said, ‘Allah, Exalted be His praise, has made prayer the light of my eyes, and has made prayer as beloved to me as food is to a hungry man, and water to a thirsty man. The hungry man, however, is satiated when he eats, and the thirsty man is quenched when he drinks, but I can never be sated by my prayer.’[Makarim al-Akhlaq, v. 2, p. 366]

4– Imam Ali (a.s.) narrated, ‘The Prophet (S) never put anything before his prayer, neither his dinner nor anything else. When the time for prayer would set in, it was as if he knew neither family nor close friend.’[Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 2, p. 87]

6– Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, ‘Prayer is the pillar of religion and its likeness is as the likeness of the pillar of a tent. If the pillar is stably fixed, the pegs and the ropes remain stable, but if the pillar inclines and breaks, neither peg nor rope remains fixed.’[al-Mahasin, v. 1, p. 116, no. 117]

8– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) when asked about the best and most beloved deed to Allah, replied, ‘I do not know anything after true knowledge [of Allah] to be better than this prayer. Do you not see that the righteous servant Jesus son of Mary even said, “…and he has enjoined me to [establish] the prayer…”[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 264, no. 1]

10– The Prophet (S) said with regards to a man who prays in spite of committing sins, ‘Verily his prayer will prevent him [from them] some day or other, and then he will soon repent.’ [Bihar al-Anwar, v. 82, p. 198]

11– The Prophet (S) said, ‘Verily the pillar of religion is the prayer. It is the first thing to be considered from amongst the deeds of man, so if his prayer is valid, the rest of his deeds will be considered, and if his prayer is void, then the rest of his deeds will not be taken into consideration.’[Ibid. p. 227, no. 54]

16– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘If there was to be a river outside one’s house into which he bathed five times a day, would there remain any dirt on his body? Similarly the prayer is the river which purifies [one’s soul] – every time one performs a prayer it acts as atonement for one’s sins, except for that sin which takes him and keeps away from his faith.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 82, p. 236, no. 66]

17– The Prophet (S) said, ‘As long as you are praying, [know that] verily you are knocking at the door of the Almighty King, and the King’s door opens for whoever knocks persistently thereat.’[Makarim al-Akhlaq, v. 2, p. 366, no. 2661]

23– Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Man should be humble in his prayer, for verily he whose heart is humble before Allah, Mighty and Exalted, his limbs will humble themselves too and will not fidget around.’[al-Khisal, no. 628]

24– It is narrated in Da’aa’im al-Islam that when Imam Ali (a.s.) used to stand for prayer, he would be like a fixed structure or a straight pillar, not moving at all, and sometimes when he would bow or prostrate, [he would be so still that] a bird would perch itself on him. Nobody was ever able to match the prayer of the Prophet (S) apart from Ali b. Abi Talib and Ali b. al-Husayn [i.e. Imam Zayn al-Abidin] (a.s.).’[Da’aim al-Islam, v. 1, p. 159]

25– It is narrated in Bihar al-Anwar that when the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (a.s.) used to start performing his ablution, the colour of his face would change due to the fear of Allah, most High.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 70, p. 400, no. 72]

27– It is narrated in Bihar al-Anwar that when Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) used to perform his ablution the colour of his face would change and his joints would tremble. When he was asked about this once, he replied, ‘It is only fitting for one who stands before the Lord of the Throne that his face should change colour and his joints should tremble.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 80, p. 346, no. 30]

28– It is narrated in Da’aa’im al-Islam that when Imam Zayn al-Abidin (a.s.) used to perform his ablution and prepare to begin his prayer, his face would become pale and change colour. When asked about this, he replied, ‘Verily I am going to stand before the Great King.’[Da’aim al-Islam, v. 1, p. 158]

29– Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) narrated, ‘When Ali b. al-Husayn (a.s.) used to stand in his prayer, he was as straight as a tree trunk, and no part of him moved except for that which the wind caused to move.’[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 300, no. 4]

30– Abu ‘Aayyub narrated, ‘When Abu Ja’afar and Abu ‘Aabdillah [i.e. Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.)] used to stand to pray, their faces would change colour, sometimes reddening and sometimes paling, and it was as if they were intimately conversing with someone they could see.’[Falah al-Sa’il, p. 161]

31– The Prophet (S) said, ‘If you were to pray so much that you became [as thin as strings], and fasted so much that you [bent over] as arches, Allah would not accept any of it unless it was accompanied by piety.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 84, p. 258, no. 56]

32– The Prophet (S) said, ‘Allah, most High, revealed to me saying, ‘O brother of the prophets and the warners, warn your people not to enter any of My places of worship while having committed a wrong to another servant who holds it against him, for verily I curse him as long as he stands to pray before Me, until he makes amends for that wrong.’[Ibid. p. 257, no. 55]

36– Imam Zayn al-Abidin (a.s.), when he was asked about the condition for the acceptance of the prayer, replied, ‘Our guardianship and disassociation from our enemies.’[al-Manaqib li Ibn Shahr ashUb, v. 4, p. 131]

39– The Prophet (S) said, ‘There are eight categories of people whose prayer is not accepted: the slave who has escaped from his master, until he returns to him; the defiant wife whose husband is displeased with her; the one who withholds payment of the alms-tax; the one who neglects to perform the ablution; the discerning woman who prays without covering her head; the leader of a community who leads them in prayer while they detest him; the intoxicated one; and the one who resists the urge to urinate or defecate [before commencing the prayer].’[Makarim al-Akhlaq, v. 2, p. 324, no. 2656]

41– The Prophet (S) said, ‘Verily the servant performs a prayer where neither a sixth nor a tenth of it may be accepted. Verily only that part of his prayer is accepted from him wherein he was fully conscious.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 84, p. 249, no. 41]

43– Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘Only that part of your prayer in which you engaged with your full attention is accepted. So if one is inattentive in all of it or careless in his performance of it, that same prayer is crumpled up and thrown back at his face.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 84, p. 260, no. 59]

44– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘Whoever performs a two unit prayer fully knowing what he is saying in it, gets up from it with not a single sin left [unforgiven] between him and Allah.’[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 266, no. 12]

48– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘The prayer of a Haqin, a Haqib and a HAziq does not count – a Haqin is one who suppresses the urge to urinate, a Haqib is one who suppresses the urge to defecate [before commencing the prayer], and a Haziq is one whose feet are pinched by wearing narrow shoes.’[Amali al-Saduq, p. 337, no. 12]

49– It is narrated within the tradition about the Prophet’s ascension that [Allah addressed the Prophet (S) saying], ‘O Ahmad, how I wonder at three types of servant: one who starts his prayer knowing full well Who he raises his hands to and in front of Whom he stands, and yet remains drowsy …’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, p. 22, no. 6]

50– Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘When sleep overcomes you while you are in your prayer, then break your prayer and go to sleep, for verily [in that state] you do not know if you are praying for or against yourself!’[Ibid., v. 84, p. 283, no. 5]

51– Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, ‘Do not stand for prayer lazily, drowsily or sluggishly for verily these are from among the disturbances brought about by hypocrisy, and verily Allah has prohibited the believers from standing for prayer while they are intoxicated, which means when intoxicated by sleep.’[Tafsir al-’Aayyashi, v. 1, p. 242, no. 134]

53– Imam Ali (a.s.) wrote in a letter to Muhammad b. Abu Bakr, ‘Observe the timing of the prayer and perform it at its prescribed time, neither hastening to pray it earlier in order to be free of it, nor delaying it because of some work.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 83, p. 14, no. 25]

54– Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, ‘Know that the earliest time is always the best, so hasten to perform good whenever you can. The most beloved acts in the eyes of Allah, Mighty and Exalted, are those that the servant performs regularly, even though they be few in number.’[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 274, no. 8]

56– al-Qazzaz narrated, ‘Al-Riza (a.s.) went out to await the arrival of some people who were coming to visit him when the time for prayer set in. He went towards a nearby fort and took shade under a rock, saying, ‘Announce the call for prayer.’ I replied, ‘Why don’t we wait for our companions to catch up with us?’ He replied, ‘May Allah forgive you. Do not ever delay the prayer from the earliest moment of its onset to the latest without a good excuse. You must always pray at the earliest time’, so I announced the call for prayer and we prayed.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 83, p. 21, no. 38]

57– The Prophet (S) said, ‘It only takes for a Muslim to deliberately abandon the performance of the daily obligatory prayer or to not perform it out of carelessness, for him to become an infidel (kafir).’[Thawab al-A’amal, p. 275, no. 1]

58– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) was once asked why the one who abandons the prayer is considered an infidel and not the fornicator, to which he replied, ‘Because the fornicator and other [such sinners] commits the sin out of a desire that overcomes him, whereas the one who abandons the prayer only does so because he does not take it seriously, deeming it insignificant.’[‘AIlal al-Shara’i’a, p. 339, no. 1]

59– Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, ‘Do not neglect your prayer, for verily the Prophet (S) said while he was on his death bed, ‘The one who takes his prayer lightly is not of me.’[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 269, no. 7]

60– Abu Ba??r narrated, ‘I went to Humayda, to condole her for the death of Abu ‘Aabdillah (a.s.) [i.e. Imam al- Sadiq], so she cried and said, ‘O Abu Muhammad, if you saw him as death came upon him, he placed his hand over one eye and said, ‘Call my relatives and my friends to come to me.’ When everyone had gathered around him, he said, ‘Verily our intercession will not avail one who takes his prayer lightly.’[Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, v. 3, p. 25, no. 2923]

62– The Prophet (S) said regarding a group of people who used to delay from praying [in congregation] in the mosque [praying instead in their own houses], ‘A people who neglect to pray in the mosque almost become deserving of having firewood piled at their doors and set alight so that their houses burn down on them.’[Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, v. 3, p. 478, no. 2]

64– Imam Ali (a.s.) said in his advice to Muhammad b. Abi Bakr when he appointed him governor of Egypt, ‘Look carefully at what your prayer is like, for verily as the leader of the community, you must pray it perfectly and not be careless in its performance. Every leader who leads the prayer for a people is responsible for any defect in their prayer, so perfect it and be mindful with regards to it and you will have the same reward as them without there being any reduction in their reward thereof.’[Amali al-Tusi, p. 29, no. 31]

65– Imam Ali (a.s.) wrote in a letter to the governors of the cities, saying, ‘Lead them in prayer, praying as the weak ones among them do [in consideration towards them], and do not torment them [by performing lengthy prayers].’[Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 52]

66– Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) was asked how to determine the most rightful person to lead the congregation, to which he replied, ‘Verily the Prophet (S) said, ‘The person who recites the Qur’an the best [i.e. with correct pronunciation] should lead them, and if they all recite similarly, then the one who migrated [from Makkah to Medina] the earliest, and if they all migrated around the same time, then the oldest from among them, and if they are all the same age, then the most knowledgeable from among them with regards to the prophetic practice and the laws of jurisprudence. No one from among you should lead a man in prayer in his own home, nor a man of authority within the sphere of his authority.’[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 376, no. 5]

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